The GQ guide to denim

Chances are you wear your jeans more than any other item in your wardrobe, so it pays to read up on how to care for your denim. Here we break down the all the best washing instructions and storage tips you need from industry experts, as well as debunking popular cleaning myths and taking your through the right way to shrink your raw jeans. You'll also find our Denim Glossary with all the lingo you need to know and which fit will look best on your body type. Read it well, denimheads.

The right way to shrink your raw denim

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The first thing to check having bought raw denim is if the jeans have been pre-shrunk (or "sanforized" - a process named after the man who invented it in the Thirties, Sanford Lockwood Cluett) during the manufacturing process. If not, they will shrink dramatically - approximately 2in in length and around the waist - during the first wash.

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If your jeans are unsanforized you need to soak them pre-wear. Fill the bath with 2-3in hot water (the hotter the water the more the dye will run). Turn the jeans inside-out and lay them flat in the water with something heavy weighing them down for around two hours. (For the best fit get into the bath wearing the jeans.) Try not to move the jeans as this will cause more indigo to leach out. When you take the jeans out of the water dry them upside down to reduce shrinkage.

The hardest thing most men find about raw denim is wearing them often and washing seldom. But the truth is the longer and harder denim is worn - there are even denim heads who insist on sleeping in their jeans) - the faster you will create the desired effect. So don't even think about washing raw denim for the first six months.

How to clean your jeans

The hardest thing most men find about raw denim is wearing them often and washing seldom. But the truth is the longer and harder denim is worn - there are even denim heads who insist on sleeping in their jeans) - the faster you will create the desired effect. So don't even think about washing raw denim for the first six months.

That said, there are some ketchup and coffee spills that a simple airing out will not solve. If you do need to wash your jeans (always as a last resort), follow the following steps to preserve the colour:

Turn your jeans inside out.

Wash alone or with jeans of a similar colour to prevent any pigment bleeding (especially if this is the pair's first wash).

If using a washing machine, wash at a cold or lukewarm (max) temperature with a denim detergent.

If you don't have a washing machine, fill your bath with a few centimetres of cold or lukewarm water, lay the inside-out jeans flat so the water covers them and let them soak for about 45 minutes. Rinse with cold water to remove detergent.

Remember: some shrinkage will always occur when you wash raw jeans for the first time, so if necessary, buy a size up.

And even if you're an amateur denimhead, we recommend you invest in a specific, enzyme-free denim detergent to wash your jeans. Two of our favourites are Mr Black's and The Laundress (below), both designed to help prevent colour runs and shrinkage. The companies also make a denim spray that you can use to refresh your jeans in between wears...

Freezing your jeans to get rid of smells (use a denim refresh spray or air out instead)

Using saltwater to fix the colour when washing (best for your chips, not your jeans)

Rinse them in coffee to restore the wash (a waste of a perfectly good cold brew, if you ask us)

How to care for white denim

Having been originally popularised by gold miners during the California Gold Rush, jeans are an innately hardwearing item of clothing. However, white jeans are a little trickier - they might be made of the same hardwearing raw materials, but one coffee spill or rogue puddle and they are rendered unwearable. Don't worry, we asked Jonathan Cheung, head of design at Levi's, the best tips to keep your white denim looking fresh... "If you get a little dirt on your jeans, give the dirt a brush to remove any bits lying on the top, then try dabbing the stain with a cloth and some warm, soapy water. Otherwise, just relax a little and wear them with attitude - a little grubby around the edges like your favorite pair of sneakers. "That said, if you have a serious run-in with a curry or drop a pizza on your lap, then piggy-back a ride with your other dirty whites and throw them in the machine."

If you do need to wash your jeans, see the instructions and products you need in the How To Clean Your Jeans section above.

Storing your jeans

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Folding be damned, the best way to store your jeans is to hang them. Kevin Carrigan, global creative director of Calvin Klein Jeans - and all-round denim aficionado - explains: "First, I always hang my denim by the back belt loop.

I hate denim being folded, especially if you'll be wearing them the next day. Sometimes I'll hang five pairs of jeans off the same coathanger to let them air and give them that lived-in look."

Of course, on a practical note, hanging in this way as opposed to folding also allows them to air out and helps to prevent odours.

Which jeans fit is right for you?

Straight leg

Also known as: relaxed fit, comfort fit, slouch fit

Straight leg jeans are the ultimate traditional cut, and one for those with a more athletic build. As these jeans are cut straight through the hips and down the legs from the waistband, it's generally a better fit for men looking for a laid-back cut who have hips narrower than their shoulders - if you have a waist size similar to your chest size (i.e. not a V-shaped torso) or bigger thighs, you could end up with baggy excess material around your lower legs.

If you are straight-up-and-down-tall with skinny legs, look out for "slim straight" fits as opposed to traditional "slim" or "tailored" fits

Slim leg

Also known as: taped fit, tailored fit

This is the most versatile shape for men. Go for this fit if you have larger thighs, as the taper down to the ankle will keep them looking trim on you. For shorter guys, the lower waistband will also elongate your torso.

Skinny fit

Also known as: spray-on, super-slim fit

Tailored close to the body and often with added stretch in the material, we're not going to lie, this style is is best for bona fide rockstars or those with less than 15 per cent body fat. If you're the kind of guy who has super-slim legs and can pull off this look, just remember "skinny" shouldn't mean "skin tight" - look out for a pair that allows you room to move and that can slip over the top of your suede Chelsea boots with ease.

Denim Glossary

Acid wash: jeans with a blotchy appearance, achieved by washing the denim with chlorine-soaked pumice stone (see: stone wash) until it is bleached almost white in patches.

Arcuate: meaning "bow-shaped", this is the name given to the distinctive bat-wing arches of stitching you see on the back pockets of some jeans. While the company might not have been the first to use it, Levi's was the first jeansmaker documented to employ this design (it was seen on its very first blue jeans in 1873), and it has now become one of the company's trademarks - so much so that in America, its home country, no other label is allowed to used anything that resembles it.

Atari: (Japanese) the selective fading of the ridges and creases on a pair of jeans, most commonly along the side-seams (known as train tracks), on the front and back of the knees, the upper thigh, along the hem, on belt loops and pocket seams.

Canadian tuxedo: another phrase for "double denim", coined when Levi's made a custom-made denim tuxedo for Bing Crosby in the Fifties after he got turned away from a hotel for wearing his jeans.

Combs: (see: honeycombs)

Enzyme wash: a method of washing jeans to give them a worn-in look. Originally invented as a more environmentally friendly alternative to stone washing, naturally occurring enzymes are used to eat away at the cellulose in cotton removing the indigo in the dye. As this is a less abrasive process as sandblasting (see: sandblasting), enzyme washing makes the denim softer without damaging the fibres.

Honeycombs: the faded distress lines that are found behind the knees (see also: combs).

Indigo: the default colour for blue jeans, named after the dye used to achieve it. Traditionally, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, however nearly all indigo dye produced today is synthetic.

Iro-ochi: (Japanese) the fading of indigo dye in denim, specifically relating to fading in exposed areas rather than the entire garment.

Loop dyeing: similar to rope dyeing, except that instead of six or eight baths there is only one, meaning that the whole process must be repeated if you want to increase the depth of colour of the finished denim.

Patina: where oxidation tarnished the yarn of your jeans, giving it that authentic, "lived in" appearance.

Rope dyeing: this is considered the best method where a group of yarns are twisted together and dyed as a single unit, called a rope. This then runs through a long machine where the yarn is dipped into eight baths of dyed pulled out to let it oxidise (react with the air). The result is that the dye doesn't fully penetrate the fibres so the denim fades better and more quickly.

Sandblasting: an industrial process where sand is fired at high pressure onto the denim to create a softer fabric.

Sanforized: denim that has been pre-shrunk during manufacturing process (named after the man who invented it in the Thirties, Sanford Lockwood Cluett).

Selvedge: the edge produced on woven fabric during the manufacturing process that prevents it from unravelling - often most easily seen as a red and white line at the edge of the fabric. This method of weaving is possible only when using a traditional shuttle loom and can generally only be made in smaller batches into fabric with a width of about 30-inches, which is about half the width of denim made on an industrial level used making a more modern projectile loom.

Originally, the use of the selvedge strip (or "self-edge") was a cost-cutting measure, as it led to less material cut off to create a finer edge to the material - but it arguably also strengthened the material, so made them more practical for heavy duty workwear in the 1800s.

Today, selvedge denim is seen as a mark of quality, generally because it is made using this more exclusive, older manufacturing process.

Slasher dyeing: the individual yarns, laid parallel to one-another across a cylinder or beam, are passed through several baths of indigo dye. Usually considered inferior to rope dyeing as the dye doesn't penetrate so well so the resulting colour tends to be uneven.

Stone wash: jeans that have been treated to produce a worn appearance, either by washing the denim with pumice in a rotating drum or by using chemicals.

Tate-ochi: (Japanese) this is where iro-ochi (see above) has formed in vertical lines in vintage denim. The thread width is not uniform in vintage denim so the colour fades most where the thread is the thickest, creating a wide white, or severely faded, line along a single vertical indigo thread.

Whiskers: another side-effect of the distressing process much like honeycombs (see: honeycombs), these are the faded streaks on the crotch area of jeans.